Local attorney assembles team to go after GM

Dirk Perrefort

Published 1:00 am, Sunday, May 4, 2014

Danbury Attorney Augie Ribeiro is leading a team of high profile lawyers who are going after General Motors for it's ignition switch issues. Ribeiro is photographed in his office in downtown Danbury Wednesday, April 30, 2014.
Photo: Carol Kaliff

Danbury Attorney Augie Ribeiro is leading a team of high profile lawyers who are going after General Motors for it's ignition switch issues. Ribeiro is photographed in his office in downtown Danbury Wednesday, April 30, 2014.
Photo: Carol Kaliff

Attorney Leah Walsh, left, and Attorney Augie Ribeiro, are leading their firm's recall litigation team against General Motors regarding the company's iginition switch problems.
They are photographed in Danbury, Conn. Wednesday, April 30, 2014.
Photo: Carol Kaliff

Fairfield County attorney Agostinho Ribeiro has created a team of high-profile national attorneys who are at the forefront of the fight against General Motors for its ignition-switch debacle.

Ribeiro, whose Danbury-based firm, Ventura, Ribeiro & Smith, with offices in Bridgeport, Hartford and New York City, has joined forces with Dan DeFeo, a prominent attorney from Missouri, who has successfully fought automakers for decades, and Ronnie Penton, a Louisiana attorney who was the lead council in the class-action lawsuit filed against BP for the Deep Water Horizon oil spill in 2010.

The team has more than 200 clients throughout the country who have suffered damages -- from death and serious injuries to economic losses -- resulting from a reduced value and use of their vehicles.

"We got involved in the case because it's very similar in many respects to BP," said Ribeiro, who represented numerous municipalities in Florida after the BP oil spill. "What we are seeing more and more in these kind of cases is that the companies are creating a system by which the people who suffered damages are asked to deal directly with the company."

Vigorous defense

And while General Motors has, just like BP, brought in nationally known compensation expert Ken Feinberg to create a fund for those who suffered damages, the company has indicated that it would vigorously defend against any actions filed in either state or federal courts.

The company is also seeking to be shielded from any liability related to the ignition switch prior to its 2009 bankruptcy. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Gerber said during a hearing Friday that he may consider arguments that the freedom from liability granted during the bankruptcy proceedings should be revisited.

More than 55 lawsuits have been filed throughout the United States related to the faulty ignition switch, which can lead to a loss of steering, braking and air bag deployments when the switch moves inadvertently into the "accessory" position.

DeFeo, whose most recent successes against Detroit automakers include a $23 million verdict against Ford for issues related to the Explorer that left a California woman a paraplegic, said any compensation offered by GM would likely be inadequate given the "level of conduct the company should be penalized for."

`Fraudulent concealment'

"This is a clear case of fraudulent concealment, and most states have some very strict laws that compensate people who have been defrauded," DeFeo said. "It's the equivalent of the Ford Pinto, when the company did an economic analysis and decided it was cheaper to pay for burnt bodies than to fix the problem."

There are indications, DeFeo said, that the company knew about the problems as early as 2005 but failed to address the issue with the switch.

"It's another example of putting a little bit of extra cost, about 90 cents, ahead of safety," he said.

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., has urged people who own cars affected by the ignition switch problem to stop driving their vehicles, even though GM said they consider the cars to be safe. He has also urged the Department of Justice to open a criminal investigation into the matter.

"There are indications of fraud and other potential violations of criminal law," Blumenthal said Friday.

Waiting lists

Jim Cain, a spokesman for the automaker, said while he can't comment on potential litigation, GM has conducted extensive testing that shows vehicles are safe to drive as long as the ignition switch isn't encumbered by the extra weight of additional keys and accessories.

But for customers who still don't feel safe driving the vehicle, he said, dealerships are able to offer rental cars or loaners until the switch is replaced.

DeFeo said some of his clients are on waiting lists to get the new part that may not be available until October. He said a consumer who has a switch replaced should ask to have the old part returned so it could be retained as evidence for potential claims against GM.

"I recently spoke to a client who said the dealership refused to install the new part unless she relinquished the old one," he said. "I'm sure that's marching orders from Detroit."

Cain said that while he isn't aware of any efforts by dealers to keep the old parts, the company has already admitted that there is a problem with the switch.

"Nobody is disputing the recall," he said.

At forefront

Blumenthal said while many attorneys are involved in the matter throughout the country, Ribeiro and his team seem to be leading the way.

"There are a number of prominent legal teams but I would say they are at the forefront of these efforts," he said.

Both DeFeo and Ribeiro urged consumers affected by the recall not to sign any documents provided by the automaker and to both retain the switch if replaced or the car if involved in an accident.

"We aren't sure that this one recall will be enough to sufficiently address the defects," Ribeiro said. "We are urging clients not to sign any documents that may relieve the company of any further liability."